


Mnemosyne

by Nebulash



Series: The Running Call Verse [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:17:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebulash/pseuds/Nebulash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.”<br/>― L.M. Montgomery</p>
<p>Erwin is a patient with too few memories, Levi is a nurse with far too many.</p>
<p>Patient!Erwin & Nurse!Levi</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mnemosyne

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! Spin-off fic from The Running Call because I just needed to get this out of my brain. Eruri is my otp of all time so sue me. It'll be a short chaptered fic just to get a few plot bunnies and feels out of my brain to make room for new stuff.  
> This all takes place after Chapter 5 of The Running Call. It can be read on it's own entirely or alongside TRC, whatever floats your boat.  
> I hope you enjoy the first chapter, there will be more shortly!

Levi shambled down the hospital hallway, sliding past the regular hustle and bustle of doctors and nurses that only seemed to calm down for a few hours in the middle of the night. The nicotine buzz crept up the back of his neck and head, soothing him from the perpetual annoyance that always seemed to dwell there. It had been a busy day so far, and his patience was wearing relatively thin..

The nurse made a turn down another hallway, one much quieter and in an area of the hospital meant for patients in stable condition. He had began his career at this particular hospital as an emergency room nurse and had seen his fair share of despair and pain and miracles all at once. When the hospital was short on staff, he’d occasionally be assigned to emergency staff for an odd night or two, but now he usually found himself in the much quieter rest and recovery ward.

Days were a mix of checking on patients and attending to their various needs and night shifts were painfully slow at times, but he didn’t particularly mind visiting with them - especially one. The nurse altered his course once more, making a turn down another hallway to room 1300. He took the file from the pocket by the door and turned the handle slowly, pushing the door open and sliding inside, glancing briefly over the notes Doctor Zoe had made earlier that day.

_Wounds healing as planned, concussion seems to have lifted but no signs of regained memory have occurred. Suspected severe Retrograde Amnesia. Administer pain medication as usual.-HZ_

 The patient lay in bed, eyes shut but not sleeping. A blue eye cracked open to watch the nurse slide into the room and head over to nurse’s station, preparing the medication. He watched the dark haired man as he worked, eyes focused on preparing the injection needle that would be administered to his IV drip.

“What’s the plan today Nurse Ackerman?” the patient sat up slowly, propping himself up with the pillows and folding the blankets neatly at his waist.

Levi turned his head slightly, looking at the other man through his peripheral vision as he continued his work. Nurse Ackerman, how formal, Levi hated it. With most other patients, he told them to call him by his first name, but in this case, he just couldn’t

He finished preparing the medication and walked over to the man, eyes focused on his work as he injected the needle into the drip and disposed of it in the proper container. “Nothing too exciting.” He continued to busy himself, avoiding eye contact with the blue-eyed man, “But you’re recovering as planned…Mr.Smith.”

Levi hated the way the name burned on his tongue. It felt wrong, so wrong, so formal and it cut through his heart deeply. He grabbed the bandages and gauze he would need to change his patient’s dressing and made his way across the room and over to him, standing on his right side. He unceremoniously started to remove the bandages wrapped tightly around the stump where the man’s right arm had once been. This earned a quiet wince from the patient, a result of the pain medication taking it’s time to kick in, “Sorry…” Levi said softly, continuing his work with more care, “She said...you still don’t remember anything. Is that right?” His eyes flicked up from his task to the patients blue eyes, holding them there for a moment in a gaze that sent a shiver down the his spine. The man frowned softly, letting out a sigh and tearing his eyes from the other, “No. Nothing...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Levi inspected the wounded area with care and began bandaging it back up, lips pressed into a tight line. There were so many things he wanted to say, but none of it would be fair to ask the patient, not now...possibly not ever. The silence between them wasn’t tense, it wasn’t heavy with unspoken words, it was comfortable if anything.

Levi skillfully did his job and his patient sat there obediently, watching the nurse while he worked. The blonde man  felt his stomach flutter a bit at the patience and tenderness in which Nurse Ackerman worked. He seemed so stern and cold on the outside, but it masked such a soft, calm exterior that instilled a great sense of comfort in the patient - and it was so painfully familiar.

“It’s Roast beef for dinner tonight.” Levi said softly, trimming the bandages and pinning them in place. “I know that’s your favorite Mr. Smith. I’ll see if I can get you extra. Old men like you need to eat” He said fondly, trying to lighten the stagnant mood.

“Please, call me Erwin.” The blue-eyed man said softly, eyes meeting the nurse’s grey ones. Levi’s eyes went wide for a split second, his stomach doing a small flip of discomfort. “You know..you know I can’t.”

“I know you can’t, and I don’t know the reason but...I’m sorry, for whatever it is. ”

Levi bit his lip, face still showing obvious signs of distress as he backed away from his patient and back over to the station. He felt tears prick behind his eyes, _stupid, I thought you’d cried them all out already_. Taking a steady breath, he finished his work and picked up Erwin’s file, making his marks and heading back towards the door, not sparing Erwin a glance in fear of the tears still pushing at his eyes.

“I’ll be back later to bring you dinner,” he managed, eyes focused forward as he spoke, unable to look over at Erwin.

“Thank you...Nurse Ackerman.”

He shut the door behind himself and made it halfway down the quiet hallway before he allowed himself to fall apart, tears cascading down his cheeks and landing  in small droplets on his blue scrubs. Thankful for the quiet hallway devoid of anyone to witness his weakness, he made his way back to the balcony in dire need of a smoke.

 

\----

 

It was late, very late, his shift had ended two hours ago, but a huge drug bust had kept him overtime. He didn’t mind all that much, it was part of his duty, part of his job, and Erwin Smith had never been one to shy out on the importance of getting the job done. He unlocked the door to his apartment and quietly walked in, stopping in the kitchen first to hang his keys up and check to see what  the yellow sticky note stuck to the fridge had to say.

Erwin removed it, reading the neat handwriting , “Made your favorite but you didn’t show. It’s in the fridge if you want it. -L”  

A pang of guilt blossomed in his chest. He wasn’t particularly hungry and felt like getting to bed at a reasonable time outweighed his appetite, but he opened the fridge nonetheless. A plate of food sat covered in aluminum foil in the center of the fridge. Erwin peeled the foil back to expose a decent serving of roast beef and vegetables, and potatoes, smothered in gravy. He smiled softly, putting the foil back in place and closing the fridge.

Erwin made his way into the bedroom, continuing to be as quiet as possible as to not wake the tiny form sleeping soundly under the pile of blankets. He removed his uniform and stripped down to his boxers before sliding smoothly into bed.

“Erwin?” the other man whispered, wiggling out of the blankets and looking up at his company through sleepy eyes. In response, the blonde man leaned in and gently kissed his partner’s forehead, taking a hold of the blankets and pulling them around the two of them. His arms wrapped snuggly around the dark-haired man’s form, earning a small, tired grunt from him. “did you eat what I left you?” he spoke lazily against Erwin’s collarbone, breath tickling his skin. Erwin drew the smaller man in closer, holding him tight.

“No,” he relaxed, thumb rubbing soft circles into the other’s lower back. ”I’m not hungry, but I’ll eat it tomorrow.”

“You better.” He ran his fingers through his partner’s soft black hair with his free hand, lifting his face just enough to easily press their lips together in a tender kiss, “Thank you.” He whispered quietly against his lips, feeling the other man curl a bit closer and settle down for sleep.

“You’re welcome…” came his reply, laden with sleep, “I love you Erwin.”

“I love you, too. Levi.”

 

\----

 

He awoke with a start, eyes wide and full of confusion as he looked around his hospital room. Erwin found Doctor Zoe staring back at him, her eyes just as wide, curious as to what he’d been dreaming about to give him such a startled wake. “Doctor Zoe..” He said quietly, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, “sorry I was just...dreaming. I think. I don’t know.”

She smiled, setting down her clipboard and approaching him.

“No no, don’t apologize. Dreaming you say, about anything in particular?”

Erwin thought for a moment, unable to reach the picture he had had so clearly in his mind just seconds ago. He huffed in annoyance, tired of saying the words on the tip of his tongue, “I can’t...I don’t remember.”

Doctor Zoe smiled, understanding in her eyes, “It’s alright, don’t worry. It’s likely that you’re just subconsciously dealing with the effects of your accident.” Erwin nodded, a bit sadly. To lose a day or two would have been bad enough, but he was missing months.  Months of memories, months of people he had met and befriended. Months of work and accomplishments and information and a million other things he couldn’t even fathom. It seemed like he had lost a huge section of his life, and it hurt him to think the people he had met over the course of this time were now strangers to him once again.

“Doctor Zoe… have you worked with Nurse Ackerman for very long?”

Hanji paused, racking her brain for the best way to handle this situation. Hanji had known Levi since medical school, where the two misfits had made quite unlikely friends. She cared very much about the smaller man and had actually gone through great lengths to get him on the same staff as her when he had wanted to leave the emergency room.

“I have. We went to school together, medical school.” She pulled up a chair and sat at Erwin’s bedside, giving him her undivided attention. Hanji knew exactly what the patient meant to Levi. She had been there the night of the accident, she had seen him, scrubs splattered with Erwin’s blood and the look of sheer terror and heartbreak on his face. She now watched Erwin’s face as he processed the information, hoping this conversation was heading towards a huge advancement in curing his amnesia.

“Do you know why he won’t call me Erwin?...he says he has good reason, he always looks so uncomfortable when I tell him he doesn’t have to call me Mr.Smith and...and why, why won’t he tell me his first name?”

She cleared her throat “I’ve known Nurse Ackerman for a long time. He’s always been one of those people that...how can I put this...builds a wall around themselves, as protection from what’s outside.”

Erwin listened carefully, trying to understand what this had to do with his original question.

“Maybe…” she continued, “He’s just afraid, of letting you break down that wall a bit. Or maybe,” her eyes showing a hint of sadness, “ he’s just trying to patch up what’s already been broken.” with that, she stood, retrieving her clipboard and heading for the door, “He’ll be in with your dinner in an hour or so, I have to see my other patients. See you later, Erwin.” The patient looked at her curiously, putting her words together in his head. Had he ever personally hurt the nurse? Not that he could remember. Why would his name have anything to do with his nurse’s need to protect himself? He turned to look out the window and felt himself dozing off once again.

 

Hanji felt slightly bad for the cryptic answer she had given Erwin, but perhaps this heightened sense of caring he seemed to have for Levi would spark his memory. Perhaps, if he considered what she had told him deeply enough, it would bring something back. Wishful thinking, she thought, and slightly unconventional - but, as Levi often told her, when had she ever been conventional?

 

\----

 

“I’m bored out of my mind. Entertain me please.” A soft chuckle was heard on the other end of the receiver, It had been a quiet night on his patrol so far.

“Entertain yourself old man, I’m busy, ER has been pretty busy today. People being stupid and shit, the usual.”

“Then why are you talking to me?”

“Smoke break dumbass, and plus, I wanted to, so what?”

Erwin smiled to himself, “Slacking as usual I see. Don’t they get mad at you for smoking?”

“Trust me, there’d be a lot less lives saved it they kept me from doing it. It doesn’t get me any favors but they know not to mess.”

“Wouldn’t want to mess with big bad Levi. He might end up cleaning you to death if you do.”

“Fuck off. I have to go, go be useful and get some bad guys and stop being a shit.”

As if on queue, the radio in Erwin’s patrol car blared out, voice staticy, “Drug bust on the 1100th block of Maria St. suspects fleeing, back up requested. All officers in area please respond.”

Erwin huffed, that was only a few blocks from him, “I have to go too..”

He could almost feel the slight apprehension in the other’s voice “Be safe.”

“I always am.”

“I know you are..I love you.”

“Love you, too. I’ll see you at home.”

 

He sped towards his destination, lights and siren blasting loudly as the few cars on the road moved out of his way to let him pass. It was late and it was dark and the weather wasn’t ideal for this sort of situation, but this situation wouldn’t have been ideal under any circumstance. Erwin turned the corner, heading down Maria Street, fast but in control. He angled his patrol car so that it would serve as a blockade to anyone attempting to flee from the house just down the street and put it into park, eyes straining to see down the road in the darkness and rain.

“Officer Smith in position a few houses down, ready for orders.” He spoke into the radio, taking his eyes off the road to take a quick peek at the time, 11:35 pm, this was probably going to make him late getting home. He’d have to find a way to apologize to Levi when he got there. “Suspect heading your way Smith.”

“Copy that.” he set the radio in place and prepared himself, eyes peeled on the road in front of him. His lights were on, blue, white and red flickering off of the surrounding houses. If everything went as planned, the suspect would stop his car upon seeing the patrol car and would be easily overpowered and arrested. This was something Erwin was relatively comfortable with. His large stature making it easy to overpower most.

Headlights quickly came into view, the car speeding down Maria Street at an alarming pace. Erwin kept his cool, giving the suspect time to slow down and holding his ground. If he moved even slightly, the suspect would be able to veer around him and escape. What good was a moving blockade? But the car approaching him at a sickening pace, failing to slow down at all. The two lights coming from the suspects car got brighter and larger, casting a white glow across the officer’s face as he quickly tried to get his car in the proper gear. It was clear the suspect was doing anything but slowing down, and was currently in a crash course for Erwin, who had little time to spare. The patrol car’s engine roared as Erwin shifted to reverse and attempted to escape, but as the suspect finally acknowledge the presence of the police officer’s car, he swerved unpredictably in a final, drug-laden attempt to escape.

There was little Erwin could do as the car smashed into the patrol car’s passenger side - Pain searing through his head and body, his arm crushed completely in the impact as the suspects car plowed through. Glass and metal and pain and fear and everything went white, as if the car’s headlights had been plastered on the back of Erwin’s eyelids.  

 

\----

 

Levi had done his dinner rounds with time to spare, dropping off the meals one by one to his hungry patients, leaving one in particular for last. He took the tray with care, walking towards room 1300 and letting himself in, only to find the patient fast asleep. His eyes were shut tight and his eyebrows furrowed, as if he was having a bad dream. Levi gingerly set the tray down on the nurse’s station and approached the sleeping man, taking a better look at his face. He looked in pain, and afraid, and it hurt Levi to see such an expression on his handsome face. It wasn’t customary for nurses to wake up sleeping patients, even if they were obviously in distress, as it often caused them even more discomfort, but Levi couldn’t help himself.

This man had meant so much to him. He’d been the first person in Levi’s life to ever actually care for him, and he had loved him so dearly. They’d only had a few months together prior to Erwin’s accident, but Levi held onto the memories they had made with so much fondness. They were secrets now, and just as everything else, Levi vowed to hold them close and keep them safe. He wasn’t a particularly patient person, but he would wait forever for Erwin, even if his Erwin never returned to him.

He leaned over the sleeping man, reaching out to gently press a hand to the side of his head, running his fingers though blonde hair carefully and soothingly. He had done this many times before, in an attempt to relax the often-stressed police officer. The patient's eyes shot open at the touch, his breathing labored and heart monitor beeping at a much higher frequency.

Blue eyes bore into grey as Levi stared back, fingers still entwined in blonde locks. The silence between them lasted only a moment before Erwin inhaled shakily, reaching up to place his hand on top of the nurse’s much smaller one.”

“Y-your name...” Levi started back in confusion, a small speck of hope pushing on his heart

Erwin’s eyes stayed wide, tears now forming in the creases as he tightened his grip on the nurse's hand. The smaller man felt the room spin as the patient opened his mouth to speak once more.

“Your name is Levi”

 

 


End file.
